Ukraine’s president has claimed that 9,000 Russian troops have been killed by his forces since the invasion began last month.
Volodymyr Zelensky promised on Wednesday that Ukraine’s government would not be toppled despite Russia taking the strategically important city of Kherson and bombarding major cities.
Vladimir Putin was accused of deliberately trapping civilians under relentless artillery fire with the southern port city of Mariupol being “flattened”, its mayor said.
In a video posted on Telegram on Thursday morning, Mr Zelensky said his country had thwarted Russia’s “sneaky” plans and he said he was proud of the “heroic” resistance to Moscow’s invasion.
“We are a nation that broke the enemy’s plans in a week. Plans written for years: sneaky, full of hatred for our country, our people.”
Russia said on Wednesday that the number of troops killed was less than 500.
The shelling of Kyiv continued on Thursday morning with witnesses reporting bright flashes and air raid sirens.
Follow the latest updates below.
06:45 AM
Russian soldiers apparently stocking up on food supplies from the supermarket
I need to make a thread on supply issues. Have seen a number of videos of Russian troops doing grocery ‘shopping’ in towns. https://t.co/LeILoeNaL3
— Michael Kofman (@KofmanMichael) March 3, 2022
06:09 AM
FSB leaked information of an assassination plot against Zelensky, says Anonymous group
The hactivist group Anoynmous claims the Russian Federal Security Service leaked information of an assassination plot against the Ukrainian president, hinting at divisions within the Kremlin.
Russian FSB leaked information alerted Ukraine to assassination plot against President @ZelenskyyUa. Now, we can expect an internal power struggle within the Kremlin to overthrow the Putin regime. In the meantime, let’s continue with the attacks.
— Anonymous (@LatestAnonPress) March 3, 2022
05:49 AM
Ofcom opens more probes into Russia’s RT news channel
The British broadcasting regulator has announced another dozen investigations into the “impartiality” of news programmes aired on Russian state-funded television channel RT.
Ofcom said on Wednesday that it now has 27 open investigations into RT and is considering whether the channel should keep its UK licence.
“We are very concerned by the volume of programmes on RT that are raising potential issues under the Broadcasting Code,” Ofcom said in a statement.
The regulator first announced its probe on Monday, saying it had seen “a significant increase” in the number of potential breaches on RT news programmes after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
When covering topics as important as the Ukraine crisis, all media with licences “must comply with the special impartiality requirements in our Code”, the body said.
05:32 AM
Wladimir Klitschko praises sports community for banning Russian and Belarusian athletes
Former world boxing heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko has lauded the sports community for coming together to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes following the invasion of his country Ukraine last week.
Since the beginning of what Russian President Vladimir Putin has called “a special military operation”, Russian and Belarusian teams and athletes have been frozen out of international events by many sporting bodies.
Belarus has been a key staging area for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“I’m proud of the world’s unity and seeing sporting communities standing together – the International Olympic Committee, boxing federations, UEFA, FIFA, Formula One,” Wladimir Klitschko told Sky Sports.
“Ban Russian teams from participating. I have nothing against the athletes but they are presenting the regime and in some way the connection with this war,” Klitschko said.
“It’s never enough until the war is going to be stopped but it’s important to show the world is not okay with this war, that the sporting world is not okay with it.”
Klitschko and his brother Vitali, also a former world heavyweight champion and now the mayor of Kyiv, have both taken up arms against invading Russian forces.
04:47 AM
Russia “throttling” independent media, says US
The United States has accused Russia of “throttling” media outlets that tens of millions of Russians rely on for access to independent information, and preventing them from hearing news of the invasion of Ukraine.
In a statement, the US State Department said the communications authority RosKomNadzor has restricted access to a raft of social media platforms along with independent outlets Radio Ekho Moskvy and Dozhd TV, blocking their websites and ability to broadcast.
“Russia is engaged in an unprovoked war on Ukraine. At home, the Kremlin is engaged in a full assault on media freedom and the truth, and Moscow’s efforts to mislead and suppress the truth of the brutal invasion are intensifying.”
“Russia’s government is also throttling Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram platforms that tens of millions of Russia’s citizens rely on to access independent information and opinions and to connect with each other and the outside world.”
04:06 AM
Kharkiv and Okhtyrka sustain heavy damaged, reports local media
At least three schools have been hit by Russian shelling in Kharkiv while dozens of residential buildings have been destroyed in the city of Okhtyrka, local media reports.
“A number of cities and towns in Ukraine, including Okhtyrka and Kharkiv sustained heavy damages after Russian shelling,” says the Kyiv Independent.
“In Kharkiv, Russian strikes hit at least 3 schools, and Kharkiv’s Assumption Cathedral. In Okhtyrka, dozens of residential buildings were destroyed.”
⚡️A number of cities and towns in Ukraine, including Okhtyrka and Kharkiv sustained heavy damages after Russian shelling.
In Kharkiv, Russian strikes hit at least 3 schools, and Kharkiv’s Assumption Cathedral. In Okhtyrka, dozens of residential buildings were destroyed.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 3, 2022
03:43 AM
Demonstrators stage protest against invasion in New York’s Times Square
03:36 AM
Suspicious package delivered to Russian Embassy in Canberra
Australian police are investigating a suspicious package that was delivered to the Russian embassy in Canberra.
Police and Hazmat crews were called to the embassy just after 10am on Thursday.
A police spokesman told the Australian Associated Press the contents of the package were being assessed, with the public asked to avoid the area until further notice.
The embassy had been site of protests in recent days, following Russia’s decision to invade Ukraine last week.
03:31 AM
Pub landlord drives minibus from Lyme Regis to Ukraine to deliver supplies
A pub landlord has driven a minibus from Lyme Regis to Ukraine to deliver supplies and drive people to the border, the BBC reports.
Tom Littledyke, a former Royal Marine, filled his van with donated blankets, sleeping bags and teddy bears after launching an appeal on social media and set off on Monday.
He first arrived in Poland to deliver supplies before driving over the border to Lviv in western Ukraine.
Filming himself approaching the Ukraine border, Mr Littledyke says: “This is terrifying”
“This is me going in, terrified, and these people were coming out.”
02:59 AM
Russian billionaire’s prized yacht seized in Germany
German authorities have seized the mega yacht of a Russian billionaire in the northern city of Hamburg.
Alisher Usmanov’s 512-foot yacht Dilbar is worth about $600 million and was awaiting a refit when it was seized, Forbes reported.
According to Lürssen, the German shipmaker that spent over 52 months building it, the yacht was “one of the most complex and challenging yachts ever built, in terms of both dimensions and technology.”
The seizure comes after the tycoon was sanctioned by the European Union on Monday.
02:34 AM
Russian forces are ‘in all parts” of Kherson
Russian forces are ‘in all parts of the city” of Kherson after the port city fell to Moscow on Wednesday.
“The [Russian] occupiers are in all parts of the city and are very dangerous,” said Gennady Lakhuta, head of the regional administration.
It is the first major urban centre to fall since Russia invaded a week ago.
02:16 AM
Two huge blasts in Kyiv this morning
CBS news reported two huge blasts in Kyiv in the early hours of the morning as the team was coming off air.
In footage posted online, senior foreign correspondent Charlie D’Agata can be seen concluding his report when an orange flash lights up the night sky behind him.
“What the hell was that?” he says.
“I don’t know it was almost like lightening. There was this big flash,” he adds, before a second flash occurs and he and another person in the clip duck for cover.
“That was close. Close enough to see the flash,” he says.
02:00 AM
In pictures: Scenes of destruction after Russian paratroopers launched an attack on Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv
01:45 AM
Reports: Russian ships on the way to Odesa
Several Russian warships have left Crimea and are heading to Odesa, according to reports.
US officials have said an amphibious assault on Ukraine’s third largest city could come as soon as today.
It comes as Rear Admiral Chris Parry, a former Royal Navy officer, said Western intelligence suggested a “major amphibious operation” was imminent.
Three amphibious Russian navy vessels transited the Bosphorus to enter the Black Sea three weeks ago, and he predicted Moscow would use them to “land troops, equipment and vehicles, either behind Ukrainian forces, to cut them off, or as preparation to besiege Odesa”.
01:43 AM
Today’s top stories
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Ukraine surrendered its first city to Vladimir Putin on Wednesday night after the Russian leader was accused of a new tactic of deliberately trapping civilians under relentless artillery fire
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The mayor of the strategically important southern city of Kherson confirmed that it had fallen into enemy hands and said Russia planned to set up a “military administration”
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On Wednesday night a powerful explosion was reported near the central railway station in Kyiv, through which thousands of women and children are being evacuated
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A senior US official warned Russia was becoming more aggressive in targeting infrastructure in the Ukrainian capital
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Ukrainian police said on Wednesday that they had arrested a man who brought explosives hidden in a children’s toy to one of the Kyiv subway stations in which thousands of people have been sheltering
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Volodymyr Zelensky, the country’s president, said more than 2,000 civilians had been killed since the invasion began
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As Ukraine warned of a possible invasion from the Black Sea, Rear Admiral Chris Parry, a former Royal Navy officer, said Western intelligence suggested a “major amphibious operation” was imminent
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An emergency session of the United Nations voted for a resolution condemning the invasion of Ukraine and calling for Russia to withdraw. Five nations voted against the resolution: Belarus, North Korea, Eritrea, Syria and Russia
